James Franklin predicts how enforcement will change under College Sports Commission

After receiving long-awaited approval, the House v. NCAA settlement is now beginning its implementation process. The College Sports Commission is also now part of the landscape, tasked with enforcing key terms of the agreement.

The newly formed entity – led by former Major League Baseball executive Bryan Seeley – will take the lead on enforcing rules in place under the settlement. Once Judge Claudia Wilken granted final approval, the commission launched and named Seeley as CEO shortly thereafter.

Penn State coach James Franklin previewed what the new enforcement model will look like. He acknowledged there could be some bumps in the road, but he’s hoping for a more streamlined process when it comes to making decisions.

“This is not going to be one of these things that we’ve all kind of grown up with under the NCAA where it goes on for two years and a lot of times, the coach is gone and the next coach is coming in and having to deal with it. … This is going to be something where decisions are going to be made and made swiftly,” Franklin told Urban Meyer on The Triple Option. “Very similar to, I think maybe a Major League Baseball model, an NFL model, is what they are trying to bring to college football.

“So I think in theory, I think you’ll like what they’re trying to do. As we both know, the theory of it and the reality are two different things, and there’s going to be some growing pains as we work through it. I’m hopeful.”

James Franklin: ‘I’m still learning every single day’

While the College Sports Commission will not replace the NCAA as far as enforcement goes, its key tasks will center around the House settlement. Topics such as revenue-sharing, roster limits and the new NIL Go clearinghouse will fall under its purview, and Bryan Seeley brings a strong investigative background from his time in MLB as executive vice president of legal and operations.

Documents also showed some of the policies in place by the CSC, including membership. The agreements spell out that institutions must waive their right to sue the commission, and schools could risk being kicked out if they don’t sign.

While James Franklin has not yet seen those specific documents, he pointed out the importance of signing. He also acknowledged the implementation committee in place to help lead the charge into the post-House world.

“Even when we were at Big Ten meetings, that still [was not] something that was out there for all of us to see, that they’re still working through the details,” Franklin said. “I think a lot of this, they were waiting until the judge formally made the decision. And then, there’s the implementation committee – partly from the NCAA, commissioners, athletic directors, that are part of implementing, basically, the House rules. And it’s going to go from there.

“We’re still learning, I’m still learning every single day and getting more information. But what has been explained to me, I think they’re hopeful, is the best way to describe it, that we can move in this direction.”